This is what the Oilers blueline and depth chart looked like at the start of the season. It looks even worse now with the trade of Ladislav Smid, but it is obvious that the Oilers D corps will look significantly different at the start of next season. Nick Schultz, Corey Potter, Anton Belov and Denis Grebeshkov are unrestricted free agents, and Belov is the only one they might re-sign.

How will Craig MacTavish re-build his blueline, and who should he be looking to sign?

We can all agree the Oilers need a top-pairing D-man, but the only way to get one is through free agency, or by trading one of the four skilled forwards.

Here is the list of the top 45 pending UFAs. Many of these guys will sign with their teams before July, so the list will be shorter, but it will give you an idea of who is available in free agency. I listed them by age.

Player

Team

Age

Cap Hit

Bouillon, Francis

MTL

38

$1,500,000

Mitchell, Willie

LAK

36

$3,500,000

Robidas, Stephane

DAL

36

$3,300,000

Markov, Andrei

MTL

34

$5,750,000

Phillips, Chris

OTT

35

$3,083,333

Morris, Derek

PHX

35

$2,750,000

Sarich, Cory

COL

35

$2,000,000

Weaver, Mike

FLA

35

$1,100,000

Tallinder, Henrik

BUF

34

$3,375,000

Orpik, Brooks

PIT

33

$3,750,000

Hainsey, Ron

CAR

32

$2,000,000

Alberts, Andrew

VAN

32

$600,000

Klesla, Rostislav

PHX

31

$2,975,000

Komisarek, Mike

CAR

31

$700,000

Guenin, Nate

COL

31

$600,000

Engelland, Deryk

PIT

31

$566,667

Pitkanen, Joni

CAR

30

$4,500,000

Greene, Matt

LAK

30

$2,950,000

Gilbert, Tom

FLA

30

$900,000

Colaiacovo, Carlo

STL

30

$750,000

Girardi, Dan

NYR

29

$3,325,000

Stuart, Mark

WPG

29

$1,700,000

Ranger, Paul

TOR

29

$1,000,000

Benoit, Andre

COL

29

$900,000

Smith, Derek

CGY

29

$775,000

Sulzer, Alexander

BUF

29

$725,000

Strachan, Tyson

WAS

29

$550,000

Phaneuf, Dion

TOR

28

$6,500,000

Meszaros, Andrej

PHI

28

$4,000,000

Quincey, Kyle

DET

28

$3,775,000

Stoner, Clayton

MIN

28

$1,050,000

Kostka, Mike

CHI

28

$625,000

Niskanen, Matt

PIT

27

$2,300,000

Nikitin, Nikita

CLB

27

$2,150,000

Butler, Chris

CGY

27

$1,700,000

Stralman, Anton

NYR

27

$1,700,000

Fraser, Mark

TOR

27

$1,275,000

Diaz, Raphael

MTL

27

$1,225,000

Fistric, Mark

ANA

27

$900,000

Prosser, Nate

MIN

27

$825,000

Schultz, Jeff

LAK

27

$700,000

MacDonald, Andrew

NYI

27

$550,000

Russell, Kris

CGY

26

$1,500,000

Fayne, Mark

NJD

26

$1,300,000

The five players in bold are playing top pairing minutes currently, however Markov, Phaneuf and Girardi are the only three I'd consider top pairing D-men. Tom Gilbert and Andrew MacDonald play lots of minutes on bad teams just like Petry in Edmonton. The Oilers can't sign Gilbert when they already have J.Schultz and Petry on the right side. They are all similar players. The Oilers need to diversify their blueline. They won't win with three non-physical right-handed D-men.

Phaneuf is the best UFA option. If he doesn't re-sign in Toronto he will get at least $7 mill/year for seven years. Phaneuf isn't a top-10 D-man in the league, but he is a legitimate first pair defender. If he is available, the Oilers will try and sign him.

Girardi is a very good #2 D-man. He doesn't bring any offence, so he can't be a true #1, but he is solid in his own zone.

Markov is turns 35 on Friday, and if he tests the free agent waters, I'm sure he will sign with a contending team. He only has a few years left to win a Stanley Cup.

MacDonald plays 26:16/game, but many in New York feel is he likely a #3 on a good team. He isn't very big or physical, but he'd be a major upgrade on N.Schultz, Potter or Larsen. He likely will get a deal worth $3.5-$4.5 million if he chooses the free agent route.

The odds of landing a top-pair D-man via free agency are slim, considering Phaneuf and Girardi are the only options, so MacTavish likely has to look at a trade to facilitate that position.

The names that some feel might be available include Tyler Myers, Zach Bogosian and Alex Edler. There would be others, depending on what or who MacTavish offers up in a trade, but if they do acquire a top pairing defender it will cost them one of Jordan Eberle or Nail Yakupov and possibly something more. ( I don't see them moving Hall or RNH).

OTHER OPTIONS...

There are some other names on the aforementioned list that would help the Oilers. They desperately need a big, strong defender like Matt Greene or Brooks Orpik. I doubt those two make it to free agency, but if the Oilers need to find a player similar to those two. They need some size in their bottom two pairings.

The Oilers might look at signing a veteran for to a one or two year deal, just so they don't have to rush Darnell Nurse, Oscar Klefbom or Martin Marincin and play them more minutes than they are capable of handling.

You will notice that there are very few big, heavy D-men available. It is hard to find big D-men who are quick enough and savvy enough to play sound defensively and not get exposed by speedy forwards. The Oilers desperately need some size and strength on their backend, and while Nurse and Klefbom are big it would be asking a lot for a 19 and 20 year old to play significant minutes against men.

MacTavish needs to add a top-pairing D-man, but he'll also need to find at least three new D-men for next season. This isn't impossible. The Colorado Avalanche completely changed their blueline over the summer, and they are a much better team because of it.

Here is who they used last year, and who they are using this season.

2013

Player

GP

G

A

P

+/-

TOI/G

Tyson Barrie

32

2

11

13

-11

21:34

Matt Hunwick

43

0

6

6

4

21:31

Erik Johnson

31

0

4

4

-3

20:45

Jan Hejda

46

1

9

10

-3

19:41

Greg Zanon

44

0

6

6

-16

19:19

Ryan O'Byrne

34

1

3

4

-8

18:51

Ryan Wilson

12

0

3

3

4

18:30

Stefan Elliott

18

1

3

4

-3

17:30

Shane O'Brien

28

0

4

4

0

15:30

2013/2014

Player

GP

G

A

P

+/-

TOI/G

Erik Johnson

33

4

8

12

18

22:21

Jan Hejda

29

3

6

9

19

22:13

Andre Benoit

32

2

10

12

1

20:42

Nate Guenin

32

0

4

4

-2

18:31

Cory Sarich

31

1

8

9

7

17:49

Matt Hunwick

1

0

0

0

0

17:27

Tyson Barrie

19

1

4

5

2

17:25

Ryan Wilson

10

0

4

4

2

16:48

Nick Holden

13

2

3

5

-1

16:38

Johnson and Hejda are their top pair, which begs the question why Matt Hunwick and Tyson Barrie played more than them last season? Pretty easy to say Joe Sacco wasn't using the right guys.

The Avs have added Andre Benoit, Nate Guenin and Cory Sarich in place of Greg Zaone, Ryan O'Byrne and Hunwick. Barrie is now their #6 D-man, while Hunwick is in the American League.

The Avs weren't afraid to change their roster, and they didn't guarantee guys like Hunwick and Barrie jobs just because they played significant minutes last season. They went out and re-tooled their blueline. They didn't add big name players, but they got better players and their team is better because of if.

WRAP UP

It is painfully obvious that the Oilers need to improve their backend. Nick Schultz will be traded at the deadline, and the Oilers should say goodbye to Potter and Larsen. Belov's play has regressed and unless he has a solid second half, I wouldn't bring him back either.

MacTavish should be instructing his scouts to watch these UFAs closely, and find out which ones will help the Oilers improve. He has to improve his blueline over the summer, and the organization can't expect those spots to be filled with rookies. If they do, then the Oilers are in for another long season next year as well.

One of Canada's most versatile sports personalities. Jason hosts The Jason Gregor Show, weekdays from 2 to 6 p.m., on TSN 1260, and he writes a column every Monday in the Edmonton Journal. You can follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/JasonGregor

Who, in their right mind would even want to come here, let alone find two top pairing blue liners. Also need a second line center to go with these two blue liners. Ain't going to happen, sit tight for 5 yrs and maybe they can develop from within. Lowe has also shown he knows how to build a loser, to go with his vast knowledge of winning.

This is as good as it gets for fans here in Edmonton. Enjoy our young developing players, as soon as they're able to walk on their own, they'll be out the door onto bigger and better opportunities.

Even ourselves, as fans have to look at it objectively. Why Edmonton, what has management done to make it a desirable place to spend 125-150 days a year. What effort have they put forth to create a positive environment in that dressing room/build something other players may want to be part of. Most players already here would celebrate in silence on their way to the airport when the time comes. This is the house that Daryl Katz and Kevin Lowe built. The people who got us into this mess, aren't going anywhere for the foreseeable future.

On the other hand, it will be pretty cool to have a brand new half full arena in the near future. The facility will certainly surpass the product on the ice no doubt. Their plan to bring in a number of lotto picks to make them look like geniuses, has failed miserably. They got the tanking part down pat, but they failed miserably icing an actual NHL caliber team.

The name that stands out to me in this list is Stephane Robidas. He plays big minutes, all three disciplines, and makes opposing forwards pay a price for carrying the puck into the zone. He would be a nice two year signing if he would come to Edmonton.

A good trade partner for the Oilers may be the Phoenix Coyotes. They have at least three defenders I'd like to see in blue, and would probably bite on a package including David Perron. That's right, I said it. I love the guy and what he has done for our team, but his value has never been higher. This would allow us to keep our core guys. Just don't be surprised, that's all.

I'd also really like to see Bryzgalov resigned in Edmonton. He wouldn't command a huge salary and that money can be better spent on a couple tough forwards. Think players along the lines of Brouwer and Clutterbuck who like to hit and can still shoot the puck.

Don't see the Oilers trading Hall, Nuge, Eberle or Perron but I could easily see Gagner & Yak being dealt! Those are good trading pieces to go along with this years 1st pick! I think the Oilers would be very happy to acquire two top 4 d-men with size & physicality! I don't believe they need to be a #1 or #2!

If Bryzgalov keeps playing the way he is it would be great if the Oil could get him under contract for 2 or 3 years! I like Bachman's game in the minors & when he was up here! I could see him being re-signed as well if he keeps it up for the rest of the year! Another quality tender signing wouldn't hurt as well to have that competition!

Center looks ok to me if they can get some physical wingers to replace Smyth, Jones & Hemsky! Hope Santa's watching cause I think my list is just about complete!

Better bring in BIG JOHN SCOTT before Calgary gets him. Burke is just waiting for Scott and/or Big Mac to be available. Size, toughness, fighting ability, TRUCULENCE!!! Burke almost had Big Mac with the Leafs/Marlies just before he left TO - ask Eakins to confirm this! Grats was very docile in Buffalo Sat afternoon - even after Big John Scott "accidently" crashed into him on the first shift, taking an interference penalty. BIG JOHN SCOTT would instantly solve all the OIL- CANUCKLEHEAD "issues"!!!

Wow, you shouldn't have done that, you could have pulled out some non objective stat like Winnipeg is prettier or better transport or just a more fun place to live, as then it would be an opinion and we could agree to disagree. But no, you pull out a fact that could be looked up, and thank you as you just made Edmonton look even better....

Winnipeg's apparently won the award for 2nd highest rate of violent crime in Canada, Edmonton is 15th, that's just a start...

Anyways I had no intention of really saying anything overtly terrible Winnipeg as it was the place I was born, and I don't think saying that Edmonton is a step up is that wrong or horrible. It's an opinion and that's that.

So to claim a city is a step-up over another city is frankly, your worthless opinion.

I've lived in both cities and I preferred Winnipeg by far. Not only that, players will prefer the management of the Jets over the Oilers... Unless they like losing.

This isn't the 80's any more, NHL players aren't going to prefer Edmonton over Winnipeg, in fact the opposite is probably true due to Edmonton's recent history. The only dynasty Edmonton currently has is it's ability to draft first overall. Not gonna attract talent that way.

Hemsky is a UFA- so not a huge return. Gagner has one year and $4.8M left on his deal before he is a UFA.

Neither of those two is worth much.

Seeing as our 1st rounder will be in the 1-3 range, that will have value. But not the value of a 1st pairing D man.

As always, put yourself in the other team's shoes. What would you accept in a trade for a top pair D-Man? My guess is the ask list is like this:
1. a dynamic 1st line scorer (eberle);
2. a young d man with upside who can play in the NHL right now (petry); and
3. a solid prospect (Klefbom? Marancin?).

The scorer provides the team trading the top D man with something that every team needs. Young D man with upside is a stop-gap but also may turn out well. The prospect is a shot at a home run. If I was a GM, all of those things would be required to even CONSIDER trading my top D man.

Trade Gagner and our first round pick for Phaneuf and a contract extension. With Arcobello playing so well Ganger is expendable and the leafs are hurting up the middle. Gagner being from Toronto might also be an upside for the deal.

So to claim a city is a step-up over another city is frankly, your worthless opinion.

I've lived in both cities and I preferred Winnipeg by far. Not only that, players will prefer the management of the Jets over the Oilers... Unless they like losing.

This isn't the 80's any more, NHL players aren't going to prefer Edmonton over Winnipeg, in fact the opposite is probably true due to Edmonton's recent history. The only dynasty Edmonton currently has is it's ability to draft first overall. Not gonna attract talent that way.

Phanuef appears to have a shelf life. 5 yrs seems to be the benchmark where his teammates tire of his act. Phanuef and Ehrhoff are certainly plan B options.

The type of player the Oilers need isn't "available" to the "experts" on here.

Turn out the lights, it's over here in Edmonton. This is as good as it gets for the next decade. The current management group aren't the sharpest knives in the drawer. They still keep trying to pass off Sammy Gagner as a 2nd line center.

I'm prepared for a rain down of trashes but I wouldn't mind seeing the Oil try to see if they can get Byfuglien perhaps, he has a modified NTC and for once Edmonton is a step up from Winnipeg city wise so he could go for it. The Jets are also having a pretty crap season and seem like they could use a shakeup or two. They aren't really loaded on offence so they may be up for one of the kids. Byfuglien has size, plays big minutes, isn't too old (28) and has a 5-6 mill a season for the next 2.5 seasons so isn't crazy money.

I am a bit concerned that Belov is gonna be another Hejda and leave for greener pastures and turn into a solid number one or two Dman. He has been a pleasant surprise so far and done alright for himself so far. He can only get better I am thinking.

"for once Edmonton is a step up from Winnipeg city wise so he could go for it." Bwahahaha you keep telling yourself that.

Buff gets a call to waive his NTC, he says to where, and gets the response "Edmonton". Buff hangs up the phone. As will any other Jet with a NTC/NMC (Little, Wheeler, Ladd, Bogosian, Enstrom).

People like Buff take NTC's to prevent going to places like Edmonton. What's that crime rate again? Honestly under these circumstances, hearing the Albertan superiority complex is quite comical. No one wants to go there.

i keep hearing whisperings about trading Darnell Nurse to get something now. This is exactly the foolish path that the Oilers have made far too many times in the past and i hope they refrain that impulse. Darnell is exactly the kind of player we need and hopefuly he is playing here next season and could end up #1 defence man in the future.
Trades Oilers have lost on:
Ray Whitney, Glencross, Stoll, Brodziak, Matt Greene, Cleary, and on and on.
I don't understand why we keep duds all the time and yet when we aquire something that we need he gets traded like Glencross, Stoll, all of the above and more. Gagner has had too many chances to up his game and yet he keeps making the same defensive mistakes costing us goals and we keep playing him, this guy should have been gone 3 years ago he is a liabity and does not deserve the minutes he is getting. Arco is far better and dependable player.
I am hoping we have seen the last of Dubnyk another guy we stuck with for eight losing years. Bryz should defintely be signed long term.
TO ALL OILER FANS STOP ASKING TO TRADE NURSE, HALL, NUGE, BRYZ, YAKS, or EBERLE.
How come other teams have big behmoth noname defense men and we have our soft powder puff ones that we pay millions too?

Anyone else find it funny how everyone complained about the lack of goaltending depth and the abundance of #4-8 D on the Oilers. Then the Oilers trade the most overpaid #4-8 D which improved their goaltending depth in the system(broissoit vs roy), not to mention the salary dump enabled them to sign Bryz, also not to mention shored up a big need at center on the farm(horak), yet people complain about it still. Nothing pleases you guys.

I look at Montreal, with Galchenyuk in their lineup, and wonder how much they would like to reunite him and Yakupov. Would they consider Yakupov, Klefbom and our 1st rounder in 2014 for Subban? Do you think it would even make them think about it before they said no.

We can all agree the Oilers need a top-pairing D-man, but the only way to get one is through free agency, or by trading one of the four skilled forwards.

This isn't the case. In fact, while is it very rare for top pairing D to switch teams, when it does happen, it almost never happens via a "hockey trade" (i.e., a straight swap of equivalent talent, or nearly thereof).

Far more common is the UFA route (as you mention), or a 2(and up) for 1 trade (i.e., a jumble of picks and/or prospects and/or marginal NHL players).

Trading one of the 4 skilled forwards would actually be pretty unprecedented. Which is not to say it won't happen, or that it wouldn't be advantageous to all involved.

But, if history is a guide… if/when the Oil land a top pairing D it will come from one of three sources:

1. internal development (this is where most top pairing D have ever come from)

Jason!
Once I want, you reporters come out say, "replace the cancer in this oilers management team (klow) rather than the players." please have the heart or ball to indicate who has been killing our beloved hockey team. You so called media members always duck the major issues knowingly, if you think that May affect your job security. Also, already looking or mentioning for UFA players for the summer seems to be losers mentality!!!

Hall, Petry and Marincin(or Klefbom) for Shea Weber. Still doubtful Nashville does it but it would look something like that.

As for Belov I feel like he will be like Hedja and have the Oilers give up on him way too soon.

"Still doubtful Nashville does it". they would be INSANE not to! management should be fired if the Preds said no straight up Weber for Hall AND Petry AND one of Klefbom or Marincin! this is the kind of overpayment the Preds would be waiting for.

You make some good points. I agree with your 3rd point on the packaging of prospects and draft picks for talent. If you look at what most people will say our biggest needs are.
1.) Size in our top 6
2.) Top defenseman,

I think one of those trades can be made by that kind of package. But I don't see us being able to acquire both without having to give up a top piece (one of the Top 4).

I think some people need to be prepared for us to "lose a trade" in order to bring in some pieces we desperately need.

There is no need for fatalism here.

It is not necessary to trade one of the 4 to acquire these things.

The next two first rounders are in play apparently and will be very, very valuable at the draft tables.

There are a number of interesting D prospects that can be packaged.

Other teams always sour on players with bad contracts or for some other reason and sell low.

The UFA market is a great place to find a Clarkson type and simply spend the cash not assets.

I wonder what kind of Defenceman Gagner, Hemsky + 2014 1st round pick would bring..or which team would give up a top pairing dman for that package. Maybe Winnipeg?

Based on the media coverage here in Winnipeg, Yakupov would be the starting point of that discussion. When you only have 2 players on the team (E. Kane and Setoguchi) who shoot the puck, a guy like Yakupov is worth a lot.

Edit: There's also no way they're parting with Byfuglien, so the top-end return from Winnipeg would be Toby Enstrom. Meh.

While you would sure like to hit a home run and get a legit first pairing d man and a legit 2nd pairing d man (or better 1A / 3A), if the d upgrade comes up a little shorter than desired, the Oilers can compensate with an upgrade in 2C.

Lets face it - Gagner in particular, is no help to present first or second pairing d men, trying to defend in a coordinated fashion, to push the play out and up ice with possession.

Oilers need to get RNH on the weights, replace Gagner in 2C with a talented tank, Gordon 3C for now but on a contending team he is an excellent 4C, and make sure whoever goes in 4C, for the time being - can play in his own end and preferably with some size.

Now - you can get away without quite the dream pair of defenders we would all love to see. Reasonable facsimile's would go a long way to turning things around, with the right compliments in the middle and we would contend for a playoff spot.

There are a segment of the population that thinks that if you lose the best player in the trade you lose the trade, however sometimes it makes your team better. Case in point would be when the Ducks traded Bobby Ryan to the Senators. Many said they lost the trade, because they lost the best player, however as the results have shown Anaheim is the better "team" following the trade. Stanley Cup winning teams aren't comprised of an entire roster of All-Stars they are made up of components that lead to the best team.

That is one of the reasons that Team Canada stated Darnell Nurse didn't make the Junior squad. Same with the Olympic squad, Team Canada doesn't always pick the most talented players, they pick players that they believe will work good together as a team.

You can debate whether Team Canada is wrong all you want, but the best GM's in this country think this way.

What's curious about this, however, is that MacT passed on Peckham and Fistric in the summer and numerous other UFAs or trade opportunities and traded Smid.

I'm seriously wondering if MacT/Eakins actually want this player type.

It doesn't seem like they do. MacT obviously places a lot of value in "puck movers" which is fine but then why keep Nick Schultz? I can't really think of anything he's good at?
I'm guessing no one wanted him at is current salary but he will probably get moved at the trade deadline.

Trading Smid was dumb and I would rather have Fistric as my number 7 guy over Potter.
Oilers also should have taken a chance on Gilbert instead of Grebeshkov.

On that list, are you able to add Italics (or different color) to the UFA's which would clearly NOT help the Oilers at all (in your opinion)?

Sure there are maybe a couple #1/2 defensemen, but as you go on to explain (ie: Colorado), we might not need to land a home run; we might just need to have solid upgrades to 3 or 4 of our guys.

Returning to playoff contention for this team is going to take a few stages, and i think the next stage (Before we go whale hunting) is to do a series of solid upgrades to several personnel! (eg: Magnus for Perron. Ference Signing, etc)

I ask you to go through your list real quick because you can come to quick conclusions faster than any amount of research we can do.

I'm a little surprised that P Larsen is someone who you do not see us moving forward with. He may not have the defensive stats to say he is a solid defenseman.......but by the eye he seems to be the only one who can make a decent first pass.

If this guy was paired with someone who could defend and someone with size his stats would change drastically. I for one can't see any other current defenseman we have being able to move the puck as efficiently as P Larsen. Both Petry and J.Schultz look nothing like they did........neither one can make a play right now........or have been instructed to scale back their offence??

We have let too many defenseman go who end up on some other team playing good hockey.......just maybe it's the coaching these players are receiving?

Who, in their right mind would even want to come here, let alone find two top pairing blue liners. Also need a second line center to go with these two blue liners. Ain't going to happen, sit tight for 5 yrs and maybe they can develop from within. Lowe has also shown he knows how to build a loser, to go with his vast knowledge of winning.

This is as good as it gets for fans here in Edmonton. Enjoy our young developing players, as soon as they're able to walk on their own, they'll be out the door onto bigger and better opportunities.

Even ourselves, as fans have to look at it objectively. Why Edmonton, what has management done to make it a desirable place to spend 125-150 days a year. What effort have they put forth to create a positive environment in that dressing room/build something other players may want to be part of. Most players already here would celebrate in silence on their way to the airport when the time comes. This is the house that Daryl Katz and Kevin Lowe built. The people who got us into this mess, aren't going anywhere for the foreseeable future.

On the other hand, it will be pretty cool to have a brand new half full arena in the near future. The facility will certainly surpass the product on the ice no doubt. Their plan to bring in a number of lotto picks to make them look like geniuses, has failed miserably. They got the tanking part down pat, but they failed miserably icing an actual NHL caliber team.